Started a sketch today, inspired by a recent trip to New Zealand, from top left in clockwise order: Australian Magpie, Black Swan, Pied Shag, Harrier Hawk, Kiwi, Dove. There were plenty of interesting birds but trying to find usable images is tricky so it limits what I'm drawing at the moment. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for skulls and bones outdoors but nothing usable found yet.

A couple of images from what I'm working on, I've actually abandoned this for now, and am working on a straight-forward pencil drawing as I'm starting to get confused about where this one's going. Also, I tried to work from 2 reference photos which ended up being tricky. Still, I'll come back to this soon hopefully once I can see it with fresh eyes. Also I will soon upload some pics of my studio space, which I share with fellow artist/illustrator Thom Durham.

Working on a piece inspired by great spotted woodpeckers, which I saw a lot of on a trip to the highlands. I have been working on a commission in charcoal and wanted to play around with different textures, so the plan is to use a mixture of oil pastel and charcoal. I realise this may be tricky but I want a challenge and also I want to create something with a bit of contrast. I have been going back to anatomy and bones, even though I was first inspired by the markings on their feathers.

The final piece will be involve the more anatomical side drawn in oil pastel, and charcoal around the shape of the bird. I got my hands on some black grey and white oil sennelier pastels so I'll be having a crack at it tonight. ﻿